Recalling the Past, Living the Present, Anticipating the Future...and everything else in-between

Thursday, November 30, 2006

One More Thing.You know how people talk about a movie being a "Chick Flick?"Greg came home the other day with a bunch of movies he bought, including "Men of Honor." Now, I had never seen it before so he RAVED about what a great Feel Good Movie it was. OK. I'm all over Feel Good.I have to say...it was so GAAAY!It was Fromage.It was a Dick Flick.I pissed Greg off . Every time I said it was Gay, he got mad.Ruined His Movie. Which, of course, made me say it more!

Okay. So it's been one month (minus a day) since we've moved to the Suburbs.I loved living Downtown. I loved SAYING I lived Downtown. Because Once Upon a Time, I was a Young Hip Chick living in my 'Chickie Pad' in the Hip part of Town. For a few years, I used my location and space VERY well. I went out Dancing, Dining, Pubing, Coffee-shopping, Massage-ing, Pedicure-ing, Manicure-ing, Waxing, Threading, Retail Therapy-ing, Yoga-ing, On-line Dating to my hearts content. And I was always 10 minutes from home. The farthest I ventured was to work, 22 minutes Uptown.I met Greg, and little by little all those Hip Chick Details fell by the Wayside. I still loved living downtown because it was convenient, but all those Single Girl things kinda stopped happening because I was happy being at Home with Greg. I guess I started Nesting.But I still loved living downtown because I wasn't quite ready to let go of Hip Chick.Then we started talking of moving.And we talked some more.So we sold.And then we bought.And now we live in the Suburbs.We have trees all around us.I can go places and park for free.We turn the fan on at night---NOT to drown out the screams of the emergency vehicles, but to drown out the silence. That takes some getting used to.We have a basement with cool furniture. We can turn up the TV as loud as we want to.I feel like a Grown Up...And I Live In The Suburbs!!!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

I am in L-O-V-E with my new computer! It is so sleek, so quick, so quiet, so new! Who knew that a little box could make me so happy? It came with a printer/scanner/photocopier so it'll take some time to figure that out, but once I do...watch out! I have BOXES of photos that I want to scan and save somewhere in cyberland. That should keep me busy for a while, eh?Our weekend project includes putting the second coat of Silver Blue paint on the walls of the office/my craft room. Our other project is to set up one of the rooms in the basement, it'll be our tv room. We have a brown leather sectional couch being delivered on Thursday. We decided on leather because that way when Greg has his grungy boys over, I don't have to get upset if something gets spilled on it, it'll just wipe clean. The back cushions can also be removed to allow for overnight guests to sleep comfortably. This will make Veronica happy as she came over the other day to offer us twin bed frames for our guest bedroom. When I told her that we didn't have a guest room she seemed miffed and wanted to know where our guests would sleep...perhaps in the basement, and we could set up some beds there? Uh...no thanks!Mitey Mite was wondering if I'd painted the kitchen red. I have green floors and green counters, so red walls would make it look an awful lot like Christmas all year round. So, I settled for a neutral colour with red accessories. However, we did paint one wall in the living room a deep garnet red, which looks fabulous.This week, there has also been some family junk going on. My brother got the shit kicked out of him last weekend, and was pushed down some stairs. He is okay, but surely is feeling ashamed of himself. He got drunk at a strip joint and wouldn't leave the ladies alone. So, the bouncers took care of him. As much as I feel bad for him, I also think that it was just a matter of time that something like this would happen. He is a very annoying drunk, and his drinking has gotten out of control again. Knowing him, he will now be sober for the next six months until he goes on another bender.Last night, Greg's 16 year old sister didn't come home when she said she would. She stayed out all night without even giving her mother a phone call to let her know she was all right. I got home from nightshift and Greg had been up all night worried and waiting for her to show up. Around noon, Two-Four tracked her down and she was in bed with a local drug dealer. WTF?! Is this what happens to sweet little girls? Since mid-summer she has turned into such a rebel, and all she thinks about is boys. Chronic Depression...my ass. She has missed so much school this year, I doubt that she's going to pass. I wish Two-Four would place a stronger importance on school, but she doesn't. Greg has told me more than a few times, that she doesn't want her kids to be smarter than her. Isn't that sad? Anyway, I was relieved to hear that she was safe. And can only hope that she will quickly pass through this stage.

Monday, November 27, 2006

What to do when nearly a month goes by and you can't get your freakin' computer to work despite having everything uninstalled, debugged, cleaned and reinstalled twice? Well, one gets SO fed-up that on a Monday morning one impulsively purchases a brand-spanking-new computer without viruses, no memory problems, and to top it off, looks very cute--- thereby ending weeks of frustration.So, I am back to blogging, back to catching up on everyone else's blog. I am one happy woman, and am starting to feel more like myself, with my own down-time. Sigh. No more refurbished computers for me.The new house is absolutely awesome, we are totally loving it, and settling in very well. Our neighbour, Veronica, still seems to keep in touch with us in some way everyday. At times, she is a little too much, a little too motherly, although I know that she means well. We've been busy painting and decorating and it really is starting to feel like our place. Today was so mild that I actually managed to get around to planting tulip and daffodil bulbs in the front. The squirrels will probably get to them over the winter, but that's okay. It's all part of the grand gardening experiment! While we were out planting, one of the other neighbours came by with her dogs to introduce herself. She seems really nice. One of the things I've noticed, is that all the neighbours speak very highly of one another and mention how wonderful the neighbourhood is. I'll take that as a very good sign.OK, off to catch up on blogs and then figure out some of the new features on this computer.I'm so glad to be back!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Arrrgh!!!! Can you tell that my home computer is STILL not working???? I am beyond frustrated. But I am still around, and every once in a while sneak a quick peek while I'm at work.To all my American Friends, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. And thanks for being my Blog Friends!I will be back. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.

Friday, November 17, 2006

How frustrating not having a computer at home! For some crazy reason, we have not been able to get it up and running,and boy do I miss it! So, just writing a quick note from work and hoping that no one is looking over my shoulder.The house is awesome and we are settling in quite well. The lady next door has already worn a path to our front door (no kidding) but she is very nice. She even baked us a cake for our first anniversary! And speaking of cakes, I did recieve Kristi's cake in the mail which was absolutely delicious!Hopefully, we'll get the home computer working in the next few days so I can get back to blogging. In my mind I've had so many great blog stories. Hopefully, I'll remember some of them when I get back on line at home.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

We all survived the move last weekend and are now sitting amongst the same pile of boxes, but at a new venue. It was pretty stressful, but I only had a few minor little meltdowns, all of which happened at the condo shortly before closing the door for the final time.The cats are VERY happy and are enjoying their indoor-outdoor digs. The house is awesome, however it seems like I am spending an inordinate amount of time cleaning and trying to get the stench of nicotine out of the walls, blinds, floors, windows etc. Just when I was thinking that things were starting to smell ok, the furnace kicked in and sent a new blast of nicotine vapours into the air. Mr Mao (silly cat) immediately ran to the heat register and plunked his skinny little self overtop of it. I think he thinks the heat feels good against his body, and I suppose maybe he even thinks he's trying to stop the stink, but all that he has succeeded in doing is saturating his fur with the stench. OK, I am exaggerating, but it has crossed my mind that he's gong to start to smell like an ashtray.The neighbours are very nice, very friendly, and perhaps a little too familiar with my house. V, from next door popped by the other day and when I answered the door, she just opened it wider and let herself in! It did take be aback just a little bit. Then, there's Ignac who sits out on his porch all day but comes limping over the minute he sees some action in my driveway. Then there are the neighbours who do "slow-by's" trying to get a glimpse into the living room through our window. Some of them even wave.Anyway, I am loving the house, it's great and we are settling in pretty good. My computer didn't survive the move so it'll be a while before I can get all caught up with all you NaMoPomers (sp?) but I'll be back soon.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

We got the keys to the new house late in the afternoon today, and it felt so strange to walk in through the door. It felt like we were breaking into someone's house, just a very odd feeling. Maybe it felt like that because we caught the neighbour on one side peeking through their curtains, and in no time at all, had also met "Veronica" who lives on the other side. Veronica was bold enough to come over and introduce herself. In 5 minutes, I learned that she and her husband are Roman Catholics who go to church every single day, that her husband is 91 with a heart condition, that she packs her garage full of cast-offs for third world countries and the church bazaar, to make sure that we lock the doors and windows, because although it is a good neighbourhood, they had some problems a few years ago with some of the schoolboys breaking in through a screen. She seems like a very nice lady, and she remembered my name right off the bat, and forgot Greg's! Of course, she has a niece named Ramona so I'm sure that helped. Anyway, she'd better keep her garage door locked or I might just mosy over there and have a good look. You know how much I love other people's junk.The wallpaper started to come down within 10 minutes of us walking through the door. It looks better already.We discovered a major glitch with out new phone number. I had brought a phone with me to plug in and set our voice mail message. No sooner had I plugged it in when the phone rang! It was the wrong number. Someone thought that they had called a radio station. 5 minutes later, another call for the radio station! 10 minutes later...another call! OMG. By the time we got back to the condo, we checked the messages, and there were 5 more calls! So we looked the number up on line. There is a local radio station whose 1-800# is the same as our home number. Can you believe it?!Needless to say, we need a new number.

A Little About Ramona

I am a 43year old "Late Bloomer" living in Toronto, Canada who found the love of my life in my late 30's. Unfortunately while I was waiting to 'grow up' my ovaries just went ahead and turned to stone. We were married in Las Vegas on 11/11, our favourite number.I am a Registered Nurse, but won't gore you with the details. There is not alot that I haven't seen, but I get queasy at the sight of my own blood.There is no real theme to this blog, but you will find lots of pictures of my cats, Mr. Mao (rhymes with Wow!) and The Dutchess. Buddy, is our 2 year old Border Collie-Whippet and the newest member to our menagerie is Laila, a Border Collie-Shepard. I have traveled a great deal in the past and am planning more budget adventures for the future.I love other people's junk and somehow always find a use for it. I have a summer trailer, and never thought I'd be Trailer Trash!I like to read and garden, and wish I were more athletic as I'm constantly battling my weight. I've been on every variation of the WW plan since 1980.I like (make that, Love!) red wine, and probably enjoy it a little too much. Did I mention I struggle with my weight?You'll find lots of pictures here, although I do not claim to be a photographer. Mostly just day-to-day stuff that catches my eye.I always thought I was fairly normal, but lately am having a few issues with depression/anxiety that are causing me to be a bit withdrawn. I'm working on changing that.You might catch a rant or two about family crap, or things that irk me, but generally, this is a pretty happy place for me.